WWD Decades: Remembering the Nineties
Supers and slipdresses, grunge and girl groups, roller skates on the runway and…the Internet. The Nineties marked a time for indulgence — in information, glamour and whimsy.
The birth of the supermodel during the Versace fall 1991 show finale was the beginning of the reign of Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista, Claudia Schiffer and Tatjana Patitz. More than ever, music and fashion were intertwined and both worlds were mesmerized by the king and queen of grunge, Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love. So fascinated was Marc Jacobs, he risked it all for the genre; his grunge-inspired spring 1993 collection for Perry Ellis ultimately got him fired.
Irreverence became a theme of the decade, and Madonna embraced it, nipples blazing in a Jean Paul Gaultier cone bra on her Blonde Ambition Tour. TLC’s coordinated outfits redefined girl group fashion, as did the Spice Girls, who stomped onto the scene in enormous platform sneakers.
Hip-hop experienced a golden age, inspiring trends like bucket hats, patchwork denim and all things oversized. Peter Gatien shook up New York’s nightlife with Club USA, The Limelight, Palladium and Tunnel. Small screen favorite “Friends” left an impact on the beauty industry in the form of “The Rachel,” haircut and “Sex and the City” gave us beloved fashion icon Carrie Bradshaw.
The Information Age saw the birth of the Internet — and media would never be the same. Television was the first to undergo a major change, as the O.J. Simpson trial brought about a hunger for a 24-hour news cycle that would later give way to reality TV.
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